Janis Joplin’s transition from band member to solo diva (including her only solo album released in her lifetime) was fraught with power plays, ego trips and excessive drug use

Visionary, guitar wizard and inspiration, Les Paul invented the electric guitar and drew the blueprint for contemporary music as we know it

How reclusive genius Prince learned to play nice with others, how to rock and in the process made Purple Rain, his world-beating 6th album

The record industry claimed he "wasn't black enough or white enough" to become famous - this is how the funk-rock superstar proved them wrong.

In a dry run for the sci-fi-tinged stardom he'd achieve in the early 70s, young folkie David Bowie wrote his 1969 alienation anthem of an astronaut lost in space

Although David Bowie’s Berlin-period anthem Heroes was initially something of a commercial failure, it became his most life-changing single

Half a dozen classics from the catalogue of Lenny Kravitz

From surf guitars to psychedelia, peace to paranoia, the 60s sound of Los Angeles and San Francisco was bright and multicoloured

Wilson sisters Ann and Nancy poured their feelings about love and the fragile state of the world into a debut single that became an evergreen rock classic

Step back Chuck Berry, Elvis and the rest... and meet Sister Rosetta Tharpe, one of the founding mothers of rock'n'roll

Step back Chuck Berry, Elvis and the rest, these mothers of invention were first, mixing blues, gospel, R&B and ferocious attitude to create rock’n’roll as we know it

Brother In Arms: the inside story of one of the greatest southern rock records ever made, The Black Crowes Southern Harmony And Musical Companion

There will never be another like the man who was an artist, a showman, a businessman and the creator of rock’n’roll

Sgt. Pepper At Fifty examined The Beatles' 1967 classic in forensic detail. Here, one of the book's authors puts the album's iconic artwork under the microscope

Nikki Lane is channelling Nashville, and mixing hillbilly glamour with high-octane twang

The iconic singer-songwriter recorded almost 100 albums and, despite a few stylistic missteps, remained true to his rebel spirit

The psychedelic-blues quartet give us the inside scoop

The $75 record store challenge - this month, Southern rockers Blackberry Smoke

In 1972, Terry Dolan made an album with members of the Stones, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Steve Miller Band and Santana. For some reason, it's remained unreleased until now...

Forged on the wild streets of New York and on the back of relentless tours, Aerosmith's third album made good on their initial promise and blew the band open worldwide, but at what price?

1969-70 were magic years for Creedence Clearwater Revival – hit singles and albums, critical acclaim, screaming fans, Woodstock. And then it all went wrong…

Already blazing a trail on Nashville’s fertile country rock scene, ZZ Top-approved power trio The Cadillac Three are back with singles-rich second album Bury Me In My Boots

They may say their success is “like a Cinderella story”, but just how did Black Stone Cherry go from a tiny farming town in southern Kentucky to Wembley headliners in just seven years?

Ex-Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson is back with a new band and album - he tells us why he’s ditched the music industry in favour of creative freedom and 10-minute cosmic jam sessions